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| | | | Glorious Aussie tucker
From the Daily Mail
There have always been many reasons to visit Australia. The beaches, the jolly inhabitants, the sunshine, scenery and emptiness. But until relatively recently, the cooking was not one of them.
In fact, 'Australian cuisine' was traditionally considered something of an oxymoron, conjuring up images of stodgy meat pies washed down by lashings of lager.
But, of course, that has all changed. Like its wine (which used to be derided in Europe as sickly rubbish fit only for skid row) Australian cooking is now famously top notch.
Indeed, from the evidence of my recent first visit, I believe it may well be that you can eat better in Australia than anywhere else on Earth.
Australia, to my mind, is like a sort of supercharged California. Brisbane is like Los Angeles without the gridlock, the crime and the smog.
Queensland, our destination, has the weather that California thinks it has (but hasn't), the beaches (ditto) and most definitely the food.
How can this be so? How can a country with its roots so firmly in Britain produce cooking (and service) so sublime and so cheap?
There are many reasons. Firstly, the Australian dollar is currently a basketcase, referred to by locals almost fondly as the 'Pacific Peso' and with good reason.
At nearly three dollars to the pound, the exchange rate feels like you are getting a 50 per cent advantage. Prices range from the reasonable to the laughable.
Secondly, Australia is blessed with an abundance of natural produce of unerringly high quality.
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Whales galore
You just have to hand it to the Australians: they know how to look after their natural inheritance.
Easier, of course, when there are so few people spread over such a large area. But it still makes it an exhilarating country to visit.
Twenty miles from Brisbane, and less than 100 miles from the Gold Coast, which has been the victim of over-development, is a jewel of an island, no bigger than the Isle of Man, which felt like a throwback to the Fifties in its unspoiled charm.
If Moreton Island were in the Caribbean, it would have been overrun by hotels years ago. As it is, there are no roads, just a few bush tracks.
It is one of those paradisaical landscapes where the sun always shines, the sea is like a warm bath and there is enough sand for everyone.
More than enough. Penetrate beyond the palm-fringed beaches and you realise that the entire island, just 10 miles off the coast of Queensland, is made of sand.
It is an extraordinary landscape. There are a few rocky headlands, some scrubland, lakes and forest, but, basically, it is a mini-desert in the middle of the sea - incredibly beautiful in an austere, other-worldly way.
Mount Tempest, its highest point and possibly the highest sand dune in the world, rises to almost 300 metres, but is as bare as a snow-covered alp.
You could go tobogganing down it, as some people do, hurtling down the sandy slopes on waxed boards.
If that sounds gimmicky, the sort of thing that happens when too many tourists are chasing too few attractions, Moreton Island is not that sort of place at all.
Most of it is a conservation area. Even the hotel where I stayed, the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort, is light years from the swanky pleasure palaces in the Caribbean.
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Small and truly beautiful
Heron Island is a diver's dream and a positive paradise for romantics.
It must be the closest you can get to Australia's Great Barrier Reef by land - a mere 20ft from the balcony of the suite where I stayed.
This idyllic spot - as popular with honeymooners as it is with diving enthusiasts - lies at the southern tip of the 1,250-mile reef, the largest in the world.
The best way to arrive is by helicopter. It takes 30 minutes from the mainland.
As we descended, a thousand starfish twinkled in the gleaming blue waters surrounding the island with its pristine, soft, white sandy beaches.
From the air you can see it's only a dot in the ocean, one of the rather unimaginatively named Capricorn group of islands - they're on the Tropic of Capricorn - lying 45 miles off Gladstone in central Queensland.
Here, small is not only beautiful but personal - you are met by the local general manager of the firm which owns the place, P&O Australian Resorts.
He's Tony Stapleton, and with immense enthusiasm, he starts to tell us about the delights of Heron. He clearly loves his work and this passion extends to all his staff.
The island only measures 42 acres and, with a circumference of just over a mile, it takes less than 30 minutes to walk around the entire place.
I did it several times but was never bored because each time you see more. My four days there were not enough.
Heron Island is home to thousands of turtles, birds and an extraordinary range of marine life, including humpback whales, which can be seen offshore between June and October.
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Dive into a world of new discoveries
From the Daily Mail
A scene more perfect than Catseye Beach on Australia's Hamilton Island would be hard to imagine. And that, said my friend Anna, was the problem. How do you take swaying palm trees, the white sand, the azure sea seriously? Even the immaculate shopfronts and gleaming streets looked as if they had been put together for a film set.
We wondered if there was anything behind those impeccable facades. Having discovered the place was inhabited by cockatoos, all beautifully behaved and spotlessly white, we felt we had arrived on another planet.
In a sense, we had. The Whitsunday Islands, discovered by Captain Cook in 1770, are almost as far from Britain as it is possible to get, and there is a powerful sensation of otherworldliness. Most holiday paradises have a shabby side, but here there is a feeling of being transported to someone's crafted vision of perfection.
'There is one rule on this ship,' said Les, skipper of the sailing yacht Banjo Paterson. 'Never throw anything overboard.' Les is a skipper straight from central casting. He has one leg, a wicked smile and needs only one of those cockatoos on his shoulder to become Long John Silver.
Yet Les's rule echoes the ethos of this place: it is a pristine corner of the natural world and the people want it to stay that way. Large motor vehicles are banned and holidaymakers, mostly Australian and Japanese, whizz along Hamilton's narrow, undulating roads in golf buggies.
The Japanese come here in droves to get married in the island's tiny All Saints Chapel. Anna soon got caught up in the romance of it all and sent her boyfriend a postcard of the chapel. On the back she wrote: 'Wish you were here.' We waited for a couple of days, passing our time very happily on Catseye Beach but when it became clear that no marriage proposal would be forthcoming, we visited the Great Barrier Reef instead.
It is the world's largest ecosystem. There are 6,900 reefs divided into three types: ribbon reefs dotted for miles, fringing reefs which surround the 600 mostly uninhabited islands, and patching reefs which stick up from the ocean floor miles from anywhere. The chain runs south from the northeastern tip of Queensland for almost 1,000 miles. Some are only a few miles from the mainland, others are up to 100 miles out to sea.
A catamaran left the island every day for Hardy Reef, two hours away. On its edge was a pontoon called Reefworld, where you can dive, snorkel and take trips along the reef in a semi submersible boat. We boarded the catamaran and I determined, with some trepidation, to go diving. Anna settled for snorkelling. On the way to the reef, we were given a talk on the dos and don'ts of diving. Remember to breathe, they said, which seemed obvious.
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A thief at the reef
From the Mail on Sunday
Last year a job took my boyfriend to Birmingham for some months. He rented a high-rise flat which offered decent accommodation but the balcony was unusable as it was plagued by an army of pigeons. Every effort to persuade the feathery ones to move on failed and he was forced to concede defeat. His loathing of these birds waned when the resident Mrs Pigeon gave birth - and he even entertained thoughts about transplanting mother and baby back to London.
My thoughts turned to those Birmingham days when I was shown to our suite in the Reef View Hotel on Hamilton Island as there, perched along both balconies, was a gang of cockatoos, as confident in their claim to their territory as the Brummie pigeons had been.
But unlike the pigeons, the cockatoos are dramatically beautiful. They roam freely on the island and, though not tame, are friendly and amusing entertainers. They also ensure that no alarm clock is required as they can be relied upon to announce in full voice when it is time for breakfast.
In the heart of the Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island is the largest of the 12 which are inhabited and it is the only one with an airport catering for direct commercial and charter flights. There are approximately 50 flights a week, principally from Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney.
The Whitsundays comprise 74 islands in the Coral Sea between the Queensland coast and the Great Barrier Reef. The islands acquired their unusual name because Captain Cook discovered the Whitsundays Passage on that religious feast day.
Hamilton has a year- round tropical climate with an average temperature of 27.4C and stretches just over three miles from north to south and two from east to west. Cars are not permitted, but if you don't feel like walking you have the entertaining option of travelling by motorised beach buggy. It takes a little while to realise that no amount of pressure on the gas pedal is going to make it go any faster, but the buggies are great fun and a perfect antidote to hazardous traffic and fumes.
As crime is almost non-existent, the police have little else to do but seek out disobedient drivers who break the buggy curfew. The locals in turn have fun devising ruses to distract the police to enable their friends to make a late post-party drive home. This is how tough life gets on the island.
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Fast track to the best of Oz
From the Daily Mail
Jetlag paid a bonus. Unable to sleep any more, I leant on the railing of the train's observation car and saw the bright southern stars snuffed out one by one. In the curtain up moments of dawn, sunlight shooed the mist from the sugar cane and I fancied I had Australia to myself.
Suddenly, the smell of coffee mingled with the gum tree perfume of the land.
'It's a beautiful morning,' said a quiet voice.
The train's attendants were discreet and impeccable and blessed with Australian panache, as if the magnificent Jeeves had emigrated and sired a whole tribe of sunny butlers. But then they were the staff of no ordinary train. The Great South Pacific Express is Australia's newest and most glamorous railway service.
Designed to the standards of its European sister, the Orient Express, this pride of Oz belongs firmly to the gracious, spacious and romantic style of long-distance travel. The Great South Pacific was Great Relaxation. I had a siesta, sat out in the open air observation car at the rear, read a couple of chapters of a book, watched Queensland unfolding and had tea.
The end of the afternoon was a good time for kangaroo spotting. I was glad I had remembered binoculars. I realised that for the first time in years I had been on a train for hours and no one had squeaked into a mobile phone: 'Hello, I'm on the train.' I chose champagne to accompany the sunset. The maroon and cream carriages are works of art. Australian joiners, metal workers and painters have painstakingly recreated Victorian opulence and solidity.
No plastic, no veneer, no short cuts. Everything is gleaming timber and glowing brass. When you shut a door there's the satisfying heavy click that says 'craftsmanship'.
I joined the train after lunch at the Heritage Hotel in Brisbane and was shown into the elegant twin bedded compartment, complete with shower room, that was to be my home for two days and two nights.
The train threaded its way northwards for more than a thousand miles between the ocean and the dark blue coastal hills. Dinner at eight was an occasion: the women dressed up and the men wore jackets and ties. The meal was Australian and delicious, strips of kangaroo for starters, followed by fish and a pudding of berries.Oz wines, of course. In the lounge car afterwards, it wasn't the singer's fault that my eyelids grew heavy, but I felt I was being sung to sleep.
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A must-see destination
Guaranteed hot weather in January and February. It's best to go after January 25 to mainland Australia or after February 25 to Tasmania because the school holidays have finished and all places to stay cut their prices to the low season rate.
Great for adults and children but a stopover en route would be best when travelling with children so they can be raring to go on arrival in Oz.
Lovely beaches, blue sea but very choppy in Surfers' Paradise so watch the children. Loads of great theme parks and places to see.
A must-see destination.
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The nicest scones and jam
It's worth spending some time exploring inland from Cairns, as well as going out to the Great Barrier Reef.
The Atherton Tablelands are lush and fertile, with freshwater lakes in extinct volcano craters.
Go down to Paronella Park if you like follies, there is also a tea garden with the nicest scones and jam (they will give you the recipe for the jam).
Although there are hundreds of organised tours available, it's very cheap to hire a car and please yourself.
Driving in Cairns and its surroundings is easy for the British, as they drive on the left, the roads are well finished and clearly signposted.
Would we go again? Just as soon as we've saved our fares.
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The highlight of our holiday
The Great Barrier Reef was certainly a highlight of our Australian holiday and spending the day there on a sailboat felt simply decadent, especially with prawns and seafood for lunch and some Australian wine.
But to top things off, my husband surprised me with a hot air ballooning flight which was just lovely. June is their winter but it was 20 degrees the morning we ballooned, I'll take their winter any day.
Seeing kangaroos and so many Australian birds from the balloon basket was a delightful and a very different way to see animals.
We flew in a koala balloon - very funny, kept us laughing all morning as do our photographs of the day.
I found Palm Cove beach just like the brochures, very tropical, very relaxed, quite small. I much preferred shopping in Port Douglas than Cairns city, as there's only so many t-shirts a person can buy.
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Hop off to the forest in Cairns
From the Daily Mail
Why, inquired the youngest member of the family, could we not go and see some kangaroos? Not in a zoo, but where kangaroos live, wherever that was. The news that such an adventure would involve flying halfway around the world did not deter him. 'Will there be a movie on the plane?' he asked.
So the three of us went to Sydney, where seven-year- old Adam saw kangaroos in Taronga Zoo. He was not fooled. 'No, where they live!' he demanded.
So we went to the Blue Mountains, where kangaroos hopped around so vigorously one could almost hear the 'boings'. He was unconvinced. 'Kangaroos live in the forest,' he said. Kangaroos live all over the place in Australia, but there was no reasoning with him.
So we flew 1,200 miles to Cairns, rented a car and drove for an hour-and-a-half up the Gillies Highway to the Atherton Tablelands and a dot on the map called Tarzali. There, skipping in and out of the trees in the rainforest, were kangaroos. Lots of them - tree kangaroos, admittedly, but kangaroos nonetheless.
'That's what I meant,' said Adam, before turning his attention to his GameBoy. It had been a long haul, but thanks to the young one we had reached an ecological wonderland where rare and endangered species are on your doorstep - literally.
We had suspected the 100-acre eco-lodge Fur 'n' Feathers might provide the answer to our little boy's dream - and ours - when we discovered its website, http://www.rainforesttreehouses.com.au. But the experience of living deep in the rainforest, looking down on the Ithaca river as it snaked through the trees and breakfasting on our verandah with scarlet and green parrots, went far beyond even our most optimistic expectations.
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| | | | A riot of minced prawns and crabbiness
The vast cattle herds of Queensland produce some of the tastiest, most succulent beef on the planet.
The seas teem with familiar beasties like tuna and whiting as well as more exotic animals like shark, barramundi (a sort of gaily-coloured tropical codfish) and the unappetising-sounding Moreton Bay bugs - giant prawns that yield a substantial glob of tender flesh, described on menus as 'bugmeat'.
The shrubbery is delicious; all the familiar stuff is here - broccoli, carrots and the like - plus plenty of weird stuff like plantain and mango the further north you go.
Weird stuff often crops up on down-under menus. In my three weeks in this cornucopia, I dined not only on bugs, but on kangaroo, crocodile and emu.
Australians, unlike Brits, are accustomed to eating out and demand good quality.
National airline Qantas brags not about its comfy seats or low fares, but about the fact that it has hired Oz celebrity chef Neil Perry to cook up the in-flight menus.
My first gastronomic stop was Il Centro, reportedly one of the finest restaurants in the Southern hemisphere.
On the Brisbane waterfront, you can sit almost dipping your toes in the river, watching the watertaxis swoosh past and cyclists pounding the towpath.
Il Centro is an Italian restaurant, but no check tablecloths and basketbound Chianti bottles here.
The menu brings together Australian ingredients and Italian techniques - plenty of fresh seafood, innovative pasta dishes and simple roast meats.
The house speciality is seafood lasagna, which I had as a (huge) starter-sized portion.
It defies description really - a sort of super-fishy pudding, a riot of minced prawns and crabbiness.
Whale-watching cruises
Food and accommodation are more basic than luxurious, with simple buffet meals and homely beachfront apartments.
Half the guests do self-catering, bunging a few steaks on the barbie, in classic Australian style.
The closest Tangalooma has come to glamour was when it was used as the setting for the movie Scooby-Doo. One or two props from the film can still be seen on the foreshore.
But what it lacks in razzmatazz, it makes up for in other ways.
Tangalooma was once a major whaling station, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and remnants of the old buildings are dotted around the hotel grounds.
But if the harpoonists have long gone, the whales are still here.
Every year, between June and October, hundreds of humpback whales migrate from Antarctica north to the Great Barrier Reef, then return with their calves between September and November.
If you are lucky you can catch a glimpse of them off the north shore of the island. Special whale-watching cruises are also available.
But the chief glory of Tangalooma is its dolphins. Fred and Echo, Nick and Shadow, Rani and Bobo. . .
They may sound like a dodgy Latvian pop group, but they are the genuine article: a pod of bottleneck dolphins who are resident in Moreton Bay and, every evening, swim in to Tangalooma for dinner.
Creature comforts
As for creature comforts, there is a resort boutique, first aid centre, games room, conference facilities, restaurant, bar and pool.
At night the conference room becomes a cinema showing the latest films. The facilities also include an excellent dive shop and a National Park Information and Education Centre.
Decades ago, the Australians implemented conservation measures such as limiting the number of tourists and removing or recycling instead of incinerating refuse.
The island has a fascinating history. Its first inhabitant was the Australian Turtle Company, which ran a turtle soup factory.
Unfortunately (not for the turtles, of course), the business failed and Heron became a commercial fishing base and then a holiday resort.
Its first guests were accommodated in tents. Fortunately, the resort, helped by a £200million P&O revamp, today provides a substantially more luxurious form of accommodation.
As befits one of the best diving locations in the world, there is a complete range of modern equipment available to hire on the island and there are more than 25 dive sites for certified divers - most within 15 minutes of the jetty - and internationally recognised six-day diving courses for novices.
There is plenty for non-divers, too, including guided reef walks and snorkelling either by boat or off the beaches around the island.
We did both and thought we were lucky to see a turtle and shark (not the dangerous kind) but, apparently, it's an everyday occurrence.
Other activities include star-gazing, wildlife presentations, semi-submersible coral viewing cruises, fishing trips, bird watching and wine and cheese cruises.
Don't forget to breathe
Having arrived at the shallow, shimmering, turquoise waters of Reefworld, I met my diving instructor, Julian, and was given a wetsuit and diving gear. Fellow diver Helen and I plunged into the cool water and sat down on a platform just below the surface. Stay calm, Julian told us, hold your nose and swallow to regulate your ear pressure at various stages of descent.
We weren't going to go very deep, about eight metres, so we did not need really in depth instruction. It all sounded pretty straightforward, but I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. I grabbed hold of the rope which guided us downwards and pushed myself under the water. The 'keep breathing' tip was useful: I didn't trust my scuba equipment and had an urge to hold my breath.
As I edged down the rope, I began to relax. When we reached the end of the line, Julian beckoned us to link arms with him. A new psychedelic world opened up: blue and gold striped fish glided over swaying gardens of violet and golden coral; they mingled with little pink and green fish which scurried along.
Then there were the huge, grey, fat fish which swam right up to you and stared. On the coral sat huge clams, 100 years old and weighing 400lb. We spent half an hour exploring this thrilling new world.
The next day we took to the seas again on the 60ft Banjo Paterson to reach White-haven Beach, a glorious 5.4km stretch of white sand. Then the crew got cracking on the barbecue, sorry, barbie. Later, we spent the afternoon snorkelling. Just another day in paradise.
Family fun
Surrounded by seductive azure water, the island's principal leisure activities are obviously watersports and every conceivable permutation of these are on offer. (There are, of course, also plenty of land-based options available.) It is only a short hop on a catamaran to Whitehaven Beach, a five-mile stretch of unspoilt white silica sand designed to make you feel as if you have stepped into a Martini advert.
Or you can take a trip out to the Reef to dive or snorkel among the beautiful coral. And there is sailing and fishing, plus waterskiing and parasailing for the more ambitious.
Having awarded ourselves some Brownie points for serious physical exertion earlier in the day, we found that one of the most attractive ways to wind down was to go for a twilight cruise in Banjo Paterson, a luxurious 60ft yacht which allows you to feel as if you are doing some serious sailing while in reality all you are doing is lounging around demolishing champagne and enjoying the sunset. A cliche perhaps, but a compelling one.
We stayed in a suite in the Reef View, an extremely comfortable four-star establishment with stunning views of the Coral Sea (or the tropical gardens if you are at the back of the building) and excellent facilities. Indeed, the suite was about the same size as my flat in London - but in an ever-so-slightly more attractive location.
Work has recently been completed on a luxurious new hotel, the lovely Beach Club Resort and there are also more affordable apartments and bungalows. Restaurants are diverse and plentiful and there are lively bars and clubs for those in search of some jolly nightlife.
A few private individuals own plots on the island (George Harrison being easily the most famous, with all the locals keen to share 'my mate George' anecdotes) but for the most part the island is controlled by a management group who took over the lease in the early Nineties. It has invested heavily, made every effort to set high standards and succeeded in turning it into an attractive destination.
The island is probably at its most successful in accommodating young families, as there are superb free day care facilities for children with their own age-related activities such as pool games, fish feeding and beach olympics.
Many of these activities have a strong marine biology focus with emphasis on the Great Barrier Reef. (It certainly felt like a far cry from my own childhood, fishing for crabs along the South Coast of England.)
Only one note of caution. The beautiful cockatoos, while masquerading as lovely tropical birds, are actually highly-trained thieves. Leave your balcony door open at your peril as they can whip in and out of a room in seconds. When my back was turned they opted for mini-bar crisps and nuts for starters and were clearly eyeing up my jewellery as a potential main course.
My view of myself as a latterday St Francis of Assisi, hanging out with my friends, the birds, began to dwindle at this point. Cockatoo pie anyone?
Out on the reef
Simone, the chirpy cabin attendant, brought a Continental breakfast as the train headed into Proserpine. Soon we passengers were lifting off in helicopters, heading over the glorious Whitsunday Islands, first charted and named by Captain Cook in 1770, to the marvels of the 1,400-mile-long Great Barrier Reef.
We flew over an immense seascape of clear sapphire water, of turquoise and cobalt blues. Thirty minutes out, we descended to the reef, alighting insect like upon a small moored raft. A boat ferried us to a large pontoon with an awning, our base for the afternoon. A semi submersible, a superior glass bottomed boat, took us along the edge of a coral reef.
Many of us donned snorkels and fins for a closer look. A guide snorkelled with us so we could identify the brilliant shoals, as bright as club ties, the clams, starfish and corals. Back on the pontoon, there was lunch. Seafood, naturally. Mussels and oysters and freshly grilled prawns. After a rest in the shade, I was ready for more snorkelling, with the precaution of a T shirt against sunburn.
At last, the helicopters lifted us off the reef, and before we knew it, we were back on the train and getting ready for dinner, some of the best lamb I've ever tasted.
Next morning the Great South Pacific Express rumbled into tropical Cairns and turned towards the mountains to climb to Kuranda. The laying of the 25-mile track into the Great Dividing Range, across gorges and through forests, was a blood and sweat epic of the 1880s. The result is one of the great rail rides of the world.
Kuranda was the end of the line for the train, but the beginning of a wonderful ride on Skyrail, the world's longest cable railway. My green gondola floated for 4.7 miles above the rainforest. I heard only the breeze and the music of the birds. Slowly, the gondola swung down the mountain to the coast.
There was just time for a beer in the long bar of the Freshwater Hotel before I was driven to Silky Oaks, a hotel in the Daintree rainforest. It is a sort of treetops hotel, its chalets painted pale green and almost hidden by flowers and trees. The heart of the place is the restaurant deck, 30ft above the Mossman River.
I explored the rainforest trails with the aid of a booklet describing the trees, plants and forest creatures. I soon identified the jungle feature famous for being ambitious, grasping and ruthless: the lawyer vine.
On my last morning I walked in the forest. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy. Among the tall columns of trees, I felt I was entering the nave of a great and mysterious cathedral. Along the Mossman, I swam in a pool bounded by boulders. Back in the heart of the forest, I sat on a log and listened to the curious fugue of birds and the rustling of lizards. Then there was a stillness, a sense of the primeval, and I felt once again that I had Australia to myself.
Splashing out on eco-luxury
Australia is the most ecologically minded country in the world - and proud of it.
Now this is good news for the environment and absolutely tremendous for tourists. There are eco-lodges such as Fur 'n' Feathers springing up all over Northern Queensland, but Sandra and Harry Walker, two local schoolteachers, had the foresight to start building their resort in the trees before the eco-boom began.
They already have advanced accreditation from the Eco-Tourism Association for their five tree houses - there are a couple of cottages, too - and no wonder: they are masterpieces of what you might call the eco-plush school of design.
Built on poles with accommodation on two levels, each has polished wooden floors. There is a sitting room-kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms, with king-size beds large enough to sleep half-a- dozen comfortably. There is also a wood-burning fire and a huge verandah, complete with built-in private spa and barbecue.
Much of the wood used - even the lampshades are made of it and there are wooden 'flowers' for decoration - is local. The furniture covers and bedspreads are made of hand-painted fabric.
The houses have everything a luxury hotel suite has. But luxury hotels cannot offer magical evenings like ours, when Victoria rifle birds go into their 'fan dance', preening like teenagers on a disco floor; spotted cat birds 'miaow' in the trees; and the possum scamper onto the deck in the hope of being invited to supper.
As with everything in Australia right now, such luxury comes cheap - the rate of exchange means British tourists get fistfuls of Aussie dollars for their pounds. Only the getting there needs serious investment - if Australia could be towed and moored where, say, Sicily stands, you wouldn't be able to move for Brits.
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| | | | Quality at the budget end
For main course I chose kangaroo, a low-cholesterol, low-fat and slightly tastier version of prime fillet steak. My companions feasted on lobsters and prawns, risotto and oysters.
And the bill? Well for four people, two courses each plus coffees and nibbles, and a bottle and a half of decent Coldstream Hills chardonnay, $258 - that's about £90, including tax. Remember, tips are not expected and there is no service charge.
And that appears to be about as expensive as it gets. In super-exclusive Noosa, about 100 miles up the Sunshine Coast from Brisbane, the restaurants are rated by the Lonely Planet guide as better than Paris.
But after a long and unsuccessful search for koalas in the nearby woods, we lunched in the excellent Surf Life Saving Club.
These wonderful institutions, which do not seem to feature in any guide book, can be found on just about any Australian town beach.
Technically members-only, you have to sign in as a 'guest', and then you are free to dine at the SLSC's restaurant, play 'pokies' (slot machines) and drink cold beer at the bar.
Fish and chips, huge salads and burgers are the usual fare and for two people plus a bottle of decent plonk expect to pay about $30 - £12.
The delight of eating out Australian style is the quality at the budget end of the market.
A magical experience
If the names were a bit iffy - I looked down into the water, waiting for Kylie and Shane to show - the dolphins themselves were beauties.
When just their dorsal fins are visible above the water, they look not unlike sharks, but as soon as their heads break the surface, and you see their eyes, they reveal themselves for what they are: the supreme charmers of the underwater world.
It is stretching language to say that dolphins smile; but they certainly seem to smile, with their half-moon-shaped mouths.
Tinkerbell, Tangles and friends were in amiable mood, probably because they were about to get a free meal. In a well-rehearsed drill, the hotel guests give them their nightly rations.
Having watched them from the jetty, we stepped down into the water and, after a briefing by the marine mammal behaviour team, fed the dolphins by hand.
It was a magical experience: getting up close and personal with one of the aristocrats of the animal kingdom.
A full moon shone above the palm trees. Stars sparkled like diamonds. The only sounds were the eucalyptuses rustling in the breeze and the waves tiptoeing up the beach. Australia in a nutshell.
TRAVEL DETAILS:
Stays at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort can be arranged through long-haul specialist Travelmood (http://www.travelmood.com tel: 08700 664556), which offers a range of holidays in all parts of Australia.
Keep the kids amused
For the kids - and there were lots on the island - there is a Heron Kids Junior Range Programme to keep them amused, and informed, for hours.
The resort accommodation is of an international standard and harmonises with its natural environment.
I stayed in one of the Heron suites with spectacular views overlooking the reef. There is also a self-contained house which can be rented by those seeking total seclusion.
What I found surprising was the fact that it is a key-less society.
Such is the pace and security of life on Heron that there are no keys to the rooms and doors are left unlocked.
They have never had any thefts and this contributes to the warm and friendly mood of the island.
Every night I could hear the waves crashing over the exposed reef - a truly romantic and mystical sound.
It's hardly surprising that the island attracts hundreds of honeymoon couples each year. I could not imagine a more restful and romantic place for lovers.
The beaches, day and night, are almost deserted. It really is a secluded paradise.
The Shearwater Restaurant is the only one on the island. It offers a full buffet breakfast, a tempting smorgasbord lunch and a three-course dinner with a table d'hote menu which changes daily.
Breakfast with a cassowary
Fur 'n' Feathers is a paradise for birdwatchers, especially those who enjoy rising early. Sandra and Harry called us before 7am so that we could stumble into the pale morning light to join a cassowary and its chick for breakfast. The cassowary is the most threatened species in the northern rainforest - traffic, disease and the changing habitat have seen off all but between 1,500 and 4,000 of them - and to get close, but not too close, to one in the wild was 'awesome', according to Adam.
After lots of walking in the rainforest and swimming and platypus spotting in the river, we decided to hit the local hotspot. A couple of miles down the road, standing in isolated splendour, is the Tarzali Tavern. This store and take-away food counter (the hamburgers are sensational) incorporates the Roundhouse, a bar and restaurant full of wooden furniture and good cheer.
The other drinkers and diners were mostly what Harry called 'larrikins', jovial Aussie scallywags, drinking 'tinnies' or 'stubbies' (cans or small bottles of beer) and all looking like Chips Rafferty, the weather-beaten actor without whom, at one time, outback movies could not be made.
We took a boat ride, with Ginger, the whistling duck, for company, on beautiful Lake Barrine. We also visited Ravenshoe - a one- street, if not one-horse, town - picturesque Yungburra and beautiful waterfalls near Malanda.
This must be among the most unspoiled areas of a country determined to remain unsullied by commerce. Eventually we tore ourselves away from the outback and returned to the inback. This included taking a trip on the Daintree River where there are plenty of fresh water crocodile to admire, but from a distance as they're highly protected.
Then we flew from Cairns to Dunk Island and a family resort that offers non-stop activity - golf, tennis, archery and a full children's programme - as well as boat trips to the Great Barrier Reef. Even on Dunk, ecologicial requirements are met. Guests are gently reminded that the removal of coral from the reef or the beaches is plundering the future.
On the plane home we all agreed it had been the holiday of a lifetime and that from now on we were dedicated eco-travellers. 'Next, I want to see elephants,' said Adam, 'where they live.'
Travel facts: Internal flights from Sydney to Cairns can be booked through Ansett. Details from Trailfinders on 020 7938 3939. For further information on Australia, or to receive a free copy of the Australia Travellers Guide, telephone 0906 863 3235 (all calls cost 60p per minute) or visit the Australian Tourist Commission website at http://www.australia.com
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| | | | Insides full of cow
You can eat nice food anywhere if your wallet is deep enough, but it is the fiver-a-head places that sort out the culinary wheat from the dog's-dinner chaff.
For example, in tropical Cooktown, the northernmost proper town in Queensland, five hours' drive up from Cairns along a bumpy dirt track, we found the Cooktown Bowling Club, one of the finest establishments I have ever dined in.
'Aw, the restaurants are OK but they're all overpriced mate. Go to the Bowling Club,' was our motelier's advice, so we did.
We strolled into the Bowling Club's cafe, a large, brightly-lit room that looks like a church hall. No trendy aluminium tables, no artwork on the walls. You have to go to the bar to order your food.
An hour or so later, we waddled out, speechless - waddling because we were full of steak. About a pound and a half in my case, of prime rump, juicy and cut-like-butter tender.
Seven hundred grammes might not sound like much, but on the plate it just doesn't get any smaller no matter how much chewing and swallowing you do.
I can't remember what came with it, or what the wine was like, just how much of it all there was. Oh, the lot cost about £8 a head.
The next morning, we went to that beautiful beach and, throwing caution to the wind, I went for a swim. Struggling to stay afloat, insides still full of cow, I reasoned that if the crocodile had decided that I looked like breakfast, he might be biting off more than he could chew.
TRAVEL FACTS:
Il Centro, Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane: 00 61 7 3221 6090. The Bowls Club, Cooktown: 00 61 7 4069 6173.
Oysters, crab and lobster.
My favourite was the sumptuous seafood buffet, comprising fresh oysters, crab and lobster.
Extras, such as alcoholic drinks, are charged to your bill, the island being a 'cashless society'.
One special moment for me was enjoying a special Heron Cocktail in the bar as the sun set over the horizon.
In its brochure for Heron Island, P&O Australian Resorts uses the phrase 'like nowhere else' and I have to agree.
As the catamaran taking me back to the mainland buffeted through the waves, I thought: 'I will certainly be back one day.'
TRAVEL DETAILS:
Australian Affair offers packages to Heron Island with return flights from London, internal flights from Brisbane to Gladstone and launch transfers.
http://www.australian-affair.com tel: 020 7616 9191.
For further information on Heron Island visit http://www.poresorts.com.
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| | Destination Guide : Queensland |
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| | | The really great outdoors |  | Why go on holiday to Queensland?
Fans of the great outdoors will find Queensland full of options. There's white-water rafting, snorkelling, ballooning and hiking in rainforests to name but a few.
Beaches beckon for the less energetic, and there's also the attraction of the Great Barrier Reef.
How much does it cost?
You may get lucky and find a flights from the lower end, around £500, but expect to pay closer to £800. A 12-day reef tour with accommodation from £500 could be added on. Or arrange your own accommodation - standard motels from £20 (Cairns), apartments from £35 a night.
When should I go?
In northern Queensland (Cairns and points north) the climate is warm and tropical most of the year. January-April is the rainy season.
May-August is a good time to visit and September-December the high season and start of summer (therefore busy).
Temperatures are a maximum 31C (88F) in summer and in winter it doesn't get below 17C (62F). The water temperature is a balmy 25C (77F) in winter and 29C in summer (84F).
In the rest of Queensland (Brisbane and the Gold Coast) it's subtropical with mild winters. Temperatures are just a few degrees cooler than in the north.
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| | | Wonder at the Barrier Reef | | What should I do when I'm there?
The biggest pull in the region is the Great Barrier Reef, with its myriad coral and brightly coloured fish. Snorkel over it, scuba on it or stay near it - there are options for everyone.
Visitors who don't want to get in the water can always take a glass-bottomed boat trip.
Where shall I stay?
Busy Cairns, with lots of hotels and resort facilities, is the centre for reef visits and trips into the rainforest. Big-city Brisbane is a good starting point for a trip to the beaches of the Gold Coast.
Or if you want to get away from it all, try a visit to the Whitsundays - 74 islands on the reef - or stay in a treehouse on Hinchinbrook Island.
What's off the beaten track?
North of Cairns the country is fairly undeveloped, there is rainforest and no major roads. There are 4x4 off-road trips or take a seaplane to get an overview.
Catch a balloon trip over the tablelands and if you are lucky catch a glimpse of a kangaroo, then finish off the early-morning experience with a glass of champagne.
Step into the Daintree rainforest and experience a different world or go white-water rafting on the Tully river, south of Cairns.
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| | | Have a flutter | | Where's good for nightlife?
Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville are all abuzz at night with plenty of clubs. If you like a flutter, there are poker machines (called pokies) all over Brisbane as well as a lively casino.
Gambling is popular all over Australia and you'll find casinos in all major towns and cities. Plenty of pubs feature live music if that's your scene and Brisbane has some decent theatre.
What's the food like?
If you're a meat eater there's good beef and lamb from the state's rich pastoral areas and lusciously fresh tropical fruits from the north of the region.
Seafood is excellent - try barramundi and coral trout, mud crabs and Moreton Bay bugs.
The climate makes Queensland perfect for alfresco dining.
On the drinks front, Queensland is home to Australia's most famous spirit, the dark Bundaberg rum made from raw molasses, by-product of the local sugar industry.
What should I buy?
Arts and crafts items made by Aboriginal and Torres Straits islanders - paintings may be beyond your budget but pick up painted boomerangs and didjeridoos, ceramics and lovely screen-printed T-shirts. Make sure they are genuine and not cheap copies.
Australia has some of the world's best surfing equipment and the Gold Coast is known as Surfers Paradise - so there's shopping here for serious surfers. In Brisbane check out the Elizabeth arcade for interesting shops.
Lots of artists live in Cairns so there are good local handicrafts. The Mud markets, in the Pier Marketplace on weekends, have a good collection of stalls selling everything artsy and craftsy, plus live music.
What is there for children to do?
The Gold Coast offers a variety of theme parks including Movie World, Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild and Dreamworld. Elsewhere, children will love the beaches and can try out watersports galore.
Wildlife is abundant - try the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island, an hour and a half from Brisbane.
Tourist office
Australian Tourist Commission, 1st Floor, Gemini House, 10-18 Putney Hill, London, SW15 6AA. Brochure line: 0906 8633235 (60p per minute).
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| | Fact File : Queensland |
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| | | Queensland | | Did you know?
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest living organism.
Language
English
Visas
British citizens staying less than three months need an electronic travel authority (ETA) scanned into their passport - obtainable through an IATA registered travel agent.
Getting there
You can fly direct to Cairns or Brisbane from the UK.
Flying time from London
22 hours
Getting around
Renting a car is a good idea if you want to travel around. Take your UK driving licence rather than an international drivers' permit. There are buses or if you book excursions in Cairns, a minibus will pick you up from your hotel. A great rail journey is from Brisbane to Cairns (you sleep on board).
Currency
Australian dollar
Costs
As a rough guide: litre of petrol 30p; pint of beer £1; moderate restaurant meal £10; roll of film £1.50; short taxi ride £4.
Weather
Queensland has a subtropical climate which warms up to tropical in the north (Cairns upwards). Max summer (Dec-Feb) temperature 29C (84F) around Brisbane and a few degrees higher in Cairns. Water temperatures 25C (77F) in summer (slightly higher in the north). Winters (Jun-Aug) are mild (min temperature 19C (50F), max 22C (71F). January-April is the rainy season.
Time difference
Ten hours ahead of GMT
International dialling code from the UK
00 61
Voltage
220-240V AC, 50Hz. The three-pin power outlet is different from ours so you'll need an adaptor for UK appliances.
Opening hours
Shops generally open 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat (though some shops close early Saturday). Larger stores open on Sundays from 10am-4pm. Banks usually open 9.30am-4pm. Post offices open 9am-5pm Mon-Fri; Post Shops also open on Saturday mornings.
Health - Before you go
No jabs needed. The UK has reciprocal health arrangements with Australia via Medicare but you have to enrol for this and it doesn't cover all costs, so make sure you have sufficient travel insurance.
Health - When you are there
Beware heat exhaustion and sunburn - cover up, slap on the sunblock, and drink plenty of fluids.
Warnings
If walking in the rainforest, avoid brushing up against the gympie-gympie plant, which has large, heart-shaped hairy leaves, as it can sting badly and cause long-lasting pain. Steer clear of the lawyer vine, which trails down from rainforest ferns and hooks into your skin.
Emergency
Police, dial 000. British Consulate General, Level 26, Waterfront Place, Brisbane, QL 400. Tel. (61 7) 3236 2575.
Customs
Long lunches - in the 'Sunshine State' everyone takes their time.
Pets
Australia is part of PETS travel scheme under long-haul regulations. However, this is a long and complicated procedure requiring vaccinations, medical check-ups and route planning; it is not as simple as walking on and off a plane with your pet. Therefore the scheme is more suited to those returning from a long stay abroad, rather than the two-week holidaymaker. It takes several months to set up the relevant documentation; see your vet for further details.
Tipping
Tipping is still fairly new Down Under, but leave around 10% for good service in a restaurant.
Tourist office
Australian Tourist Commission, 1st Floor, Gemini House, 10-18 Putney Hill, London, SW15 6AA. Brochure line: 0906 8633235 (60p per minute).
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| | Available rental properties in Kyrenia |
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| |  | | Trinity Tropical Oasis
Very private luxury villa with mountain views, 11 jet spa bath and pool in lush tropical gardens only 1 street to Trinity Beach, Cairns.
|  | | Absolute Beachfront
Beachfront in paradise. This immaculately presented, fully furnished top floor one bedroom apartment has some of the most breath taking views of the Coral Sea.
|  | | Paradise Island 117
Luxury apartment 41/2 star resort Gold Coast Australia
|  | | Paradise Island 221
Centrally located in Surfers Paradise with water frontage,close to beach,Shopping,Restaurants and main night life precinct of the Gold Coast.
|  | | Paradise Island Resort 409
Luxury 1BR apartment 41/2 star resort Gold Coast Australia
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Holiday Rentals in Kyrenia |
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